Trays, dinner plates, and similar food service items are of course widely used on airplanes and other common carriers, as well as in the home and in a variety of institutional settings. They are normally formed with several recesses or pockets, adapted to receive a food portion or a food or beverage receptacle, and they are typically of one-piece construction and molded from a relatively inexpensive material, such as plastic, paperboard, or the like. In many instances it is desirable to provide a cover for such a tray or plate, to protect and confine the contents and/or for temperature maintenance.
A considerable variety of such food service items have been proposed heretofore, and in some instances they have been designated so that two of them can be assembled to provide both the base and also the cover for an integrated, container-like assembly. Illustrative of the prior art in this field are the following United States patents:
Whiteford U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,124 provides a food service tray having a plurality of molded recesses, with a liner disposed over its entire upper surface.
Leers U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,152 is directed to a plastic housing, comprised of identical trays which are locked together in opposed relationship by use of alternating ribs and recesses provided along the sidewall edges.
A container consisting of insulated top and bottom components, which have interlocking elements on outside flange portions, is disclosed in Rowan U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,015.
Florian U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,506 shows a tray, which is symmetrical relative to two perpendicular axes, having cells for carrying individual containers.
Ricobene et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,852 discloses a food container which may be assembled from identical top and bottom components having interfitting projections and recesses.
Girotti et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,450 provides a storage housing consisting of two identical containers positioned in inverted relationship to one another, a flange of each being engaged within a groove of the other.
Cottrell U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,746 discloses a stackable, tray-like container which has a projection along approximately half the length of its upper edge flange, and a recess along the other half, which will interlock when two of the trays are assembled.
A toaster/oven pan is provided by Miklas U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,763, which has handles that interengage when two of the pans are assembled in a confronting relationship to one another.
Davis U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,371 provides a nestable sundae dish with identical bottom and cover components, which can be secured in assembly by interengaging their locking elements.
Stern U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,118 is directed to a pizza container comprised of half-sections with interfitting flanges.
Larsen U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,989 discloses a pizza box assembled from identical carton halves, each of which has edges formed to provide projections and recesses which interlock with those of the opposite half.
Bridges U.S. Pat. No. Re. 30,962 provides insulated, stackable trays with sealing lips for holding and serving food.
Despite the activity indicated by the above-noted prior art, the need remains for an article, in the form of a tray, dinner plate, or like receptacle, which has a plurality of compartments and which can readily be assembled with an identical component to provide an assemble having a plurality of internal chambers.
It is therefore the broad object of the present invention to provide a novel receptacle member satisfying the foregoing need, and to provide a novel container-like assembly of two such articles.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide such an article and assembly in which the chambers of the integrated unit, resulting from assembly of the articles, are of regular configuration and symmetric with respect to the plane at the intersection of the components.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel article having the foregoing features and advantages, which is relatively facile and inexpensive to produce, and which is conveniently and effectively joined with an identical article to produce the container-like assembly.